Orkan
|Level = 6 |MarkI = Orkan |Hardpoint = Heavy |Weaponnum = 020 |Img = |Damage = 854 |Icn1 = Explosive |Range = 300 m |Icn2 = Manual |Reload = 23 sec |Icn3 = Volley |Capacity = Clip: 32 rockets Burst: 39 rockets |Icn4 = FWR |Unload = Clip: 4.1 sec Burst: 5 sec |Icn5 = AOE |Icn6 = ' }} Introduction The Orkan is a close-range (up to 300 meters) medium rocket weapon. Strategy This rocket launcher is similar to the Pinata in terms of fire rate, damage type, damage radius, and the reloading mechanism; however it has more ammunition (32 rockets). The rockets explode upon impact causing splash damage. Splash damage allows rockets to damage nearby enemy robots, robots protected by a physical shield, and robots behind cover. However, while very similar to the Pinata, the Orkan does more damage per rocket. Due to "smart reload" mechanism, it is able to unleash a single rocket or the entire volley of rockets on a target, and also it can continue to be fired while it is reloading. The rockets need to make contact with the enemy robot, or else they will continue to fly to their maximum distance. Firing a small part of your salvo is good against a weak or wounded target - a pilot can fire only as many rockets as necessary to destroy it. This leaves the weapon ready for the next engagement with a shorter reload time to completely refill. This characteristic was added to Pinata, Tulumbas and Pins in update 2.9.0 The Orkan has one of the shortest effective ranges of any weapon and a lower damage per minute than its most common competitor, the Taran. Another consideration is that the rockets have a relatively slow speed and small splash radius, and faster robots can avoid taking damage entirely at longer ranges by outrunning its rockets. The weapon is best used at a very short range where the rockets are more likely to hit. This weapon also has difficulty in aiming at targets when the enemy is in mid-air, causing most rockets to miss. However, this is not a problem at close range. One could fire a short burst of rockets when corner-shooting against a more powerful opponent to deter them, giving them the impression that your weapons are fully reloaded when they are in fact almost empty. Firing only a small burst is crucial as firing all your rockets defeats the purpose of this tactic, which is to deter enemies until your weapons have fully reloaded. One can also fire rockets at the sides of obstacles to damage enemies hiding behind cover, due to the Orkan's splash damage. Because of its ability to deliver heavy damage in a very short amount of time, reload while firing, and ignoring the physical shields of robots like the Rhino or the Lancelot, it is one of the most popular weapons in the game. There is a possible bug that causes some rockets to explode upon launching. It appears to happen when the robot is in motion, especially when it's falling or jumping. (This bug is fixed according to Pixonic.) Mark I Statistics *The damage column shows the damage of each individual rocket (out of 39 rockets) Mark II Statistics *The damage column shows the damage of each individual rocket (out of 39 rockets) Update History Poll Trivia *Orkan translates to hurricane or storm in German, which describes this weapon's nature well, as it can launch a “hurricane” of rockets. *The name may be a reference to the M-87 Orkan, a Yugoslav multiple rocket launcher. *Prior to 2.9 update Orkan was using same rockets as Pinata, only x2 capacity (Pinata was 16 rockets, and Orkan was 32)